Developing Effective Hiring Practices

Unlike other industries, construction often poses numerous problems for human resource departments. With a number of on-going projects occurring at once, as well as various teams needed to perform on these jobs, selecting the right personnel becomes difficult. Moreover, tight timelines and pressing deadlines need to be met, and each project needs to be staffed appropriately. One way to deal with this is by developing effective hiring practices and human resource policies that ensure your company is always well-equipped with candidates, and on the lookout for top talent in the construction industry.

An effective hiring plan should be established by human resource departments, and should have strict guidelines. Most importantly, hiring and recruiting should be done all-year-round, even if a position isn’t open. Keeping an eye out for talent is always a good idea and provides your company with a pool of candidates to choose from once a position becomes available. Here are some effective tips and tricks for developing effective hiring practices in the construction industry.

Create a Detailed Job Posting

Once a specific job opens becomes available, attracting the best candidate becomes impossible without an effective job posting. A good job posting is specific and extremely detailed, and mentions all of the pertinent qualifications, certifications and skills that you expect out of candidates. In addition, the job posting must describe the specific things that you will expect of the hired candidate. Be clear, concise and to the point, to make sure you are both attracting and informing anyone who may be interested in the job. By keeping your job posting simple and direct, people who fit the profile you are looking for will be more inclined to apply.

Use Current Employees to your Advantage

Some of the best potential employees may be a referral from existing workers in your company. What could be a better resource for hiring new talent than through the trusted staff that you already employ? You can offer referral incentives to your workers or simply ask workers individually if they know of potential candidates who may fit a specific job profile. More importantly, by taking advantage of your current staff, you may be able to fill a job opening much quicker than if you were to start from scratch. Saving time and minimizing effort in finding talent is essential for construction companies who are often tight for time.

Never Stop Looking

Even if your company is not currently in a hiring mode, have your HR department look for talent as you never know when a candidate surpasses your expectations and proves to be perfect for a job. Also, if you come across such deserving candidates, it is good to keep them in your records so that you can refer to them in the future. Doing this also prevents your company from making rash hiring decisions, and bringing on the wrong candidate because there wasn’t enough time to find the right fit.

Assessment Tests

Have your HR department create detailed pre-employment assessment tests which help you understand a candidate’s potential, abilities and shortcomings. These can range from technical knowledge of the job they are entering, to personality-based assessments. These short quizzes and surveys can give HR departments a good idea if someone is the right candidate both from a technical or skill perspective, as well as in terms of their personality or demeanor. Many of these things can be sorted out during the interview process, but having additional testing even before the interview can also distinguish who is more serious about getting the job, and who isn’t.

Never Spoil Relationships

Even if workers are relieved of their job, or decide to quit, try to maintain a positive relationship with that individual. Someone who has gone through the training process, and is familiar with your particular work culture may prove to be the best candidate for a job later down the line. Make sure you maintain a professional relationship with all workers. Even if someone was not right for the job at one given time, their experiences outside of the company may lead them to come back. Always keep a positive attitude with prior employees, and don’t be afraid to approach employees who have done good work for you in the past. For more, see our article on the role HR department plays in educating workers as well as how construction software can solve HR issues.

Developing Effective Hiring Practices was last modified: May 10th, 2016 by Chris